5 Unlocking the Mystery of Elizabeth’s Father: A Genealogical Challenge

 

Maternal Great-Grandfather Coon – Moore or Neal

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 5 – January 27, 2025

Prompt: Challenge

Who was Elizabeth Moore’s father?

My maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Moore Nolen, grew up in the Sand Springs Home in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, a home for children whose parents couldn’t support them. Growing up, I was told that my grandmother didn’t know her parents, and the mystery of her origins lingered in our family for years.

The first breakthrough came from my cousin, Robbin, who found a reverse image of a page from an old family Bible. The text read:

My Family Record – August 10, 1908

Joe Moore born 1870 W VA

Lucinda born 1873

Married in old I.T. in Tulsa Town in 1889

Charlie Walter born in 1890 in Springfield, MO

Frankie Francis born Feb 19, 1898

My twins born in Tulsy Town I.T. Aug 1st 1905 cross street in old house from rr tracks

Dr. McGinis named them Billy Antonio and Lizzie

Annie was born in new house in Kendal Addition in Tulsa Town in 1907

Frankie Francis is my mother’s “Uncle Frank,” but he went by the last name Coon. Charlie Walter is her “Uncle Charlie” Moore. Lizzie’s twin, Billy Antonio, is my mother’s “Uncle Bill” Moore. Annie is her “Aunt Annie” Moore.

Elizabeth was known to have said, “Don’t call me a Coon.” We never thought to ask why she and Frank had different last names.

A review of Oaklawn Cemetery records revealed that Elizabeth’s brother, Frank, is buried in Section 17, Block 516, SW Quarter, Grave 3. Just next to him, in Grave 4, lies Joe Moore Coon. Josiah’s wife, Lucinda, is buried in Grave 1 under the name Lucinda Scott, as her third husband was William Scott. Grave 2 holds Baby Boone, Lucinda’s child from her second marriage to Lew Boone.

This section is also known as the Joe Moore Section.

Robbin’s sister, Paula, visited the cemetery and found that Joe Moore Coon’s plot was marked with a military headstone under the name Josiah Coon.

Could Josiah Coon and Joe Moore be the same person?

This was the first time we had heard the name Josiah Coon.

A search of census records found Josiah Coon and Lucinda in Tulsa in 1900. Both were listed as widowed (W) under marital status. Strangely, Lucinda and five children were recorded with the surname King. Her relationship to Josiah was listed as “servant,” and all the children were listed as “wards.”

Elizabeth’s brothers, Charlie and Franklin, appeared in the household, along with three girls I have never found in any other record—Onie, Alpha, and Bertie.

This census record directly conflicts with Lucinda’s handwritten family record in the Bible, which stated she married Joe Moore in 1889.

With the information from Josiah’s military headstone, Robbin was able to research his military records. She found Josiah Coon listed among the Unclaimed Union Civil War Medals held by the West Virginia State Archives. She was able to prove her descent from him and received the medal, which she presented to my mother along with all her research.

Josiah Coon filed for his Civil War pension from Indian Territory on August 13, 1884, and his widow, Lucinda Coon, filed for a widow’s pension on August 11, 1908—coincidentally, the day after she recorded My Family Record in the Bible.

Robbin requested Josiah’s pension file from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and I requested it through the National Archives (NARA) and multiple researchers. No one has been able to locate the file.

However, I did obtain Josiah’s probate file from storage at the Tulsa County Warehouse. The file contained an affidavit signed by Lucinda, stating that Josiah Coon also used the name Joe Moore. His will listed his children, including Elizabeth, confirming the familial connection.

Later, I found a 1936 newspaper article detailing an effort to obtain grave markers for Civil War veterans buried in Oaklawn Cemetery. The article stated that during the investigation, a veteran was discovered buried under the name Joe Moore, who was, in reality, Josiah Coon.

We don’t know why he had two names, but this explained why Elizabeth and Frank had different last names.

So, we had finally solved the mystery of Elizabeth’s father—until a surprising DNA match appeared.

After gathering extensive documentation on Josiah/Joe (or JJ, as I fondly referred to him), I discovered that my mother had a fairly high DNA match with someone I didn’t recognize. The match, known only as R.N., shared 599 cM with my mother—close enough to be a first cousin, meaning they likely shared grandparents.

R.N. had no family tree. I contacted another DNA match with the Neal surname, and she identified R.N. as Raymond Neal—her father. Shared matches linked us to several other Neal family members. At this point, I had enough information to add them as a floating branch in my family tree, but I still didn’t know how they fit into our lineage.

Since Elizabeth’s mother’s maiden name was unknown to me at the time, I wasn’t sure if this Neal line was connected to her mother or her father.

After months of collaboration with Shelley, the daughter of Betty Neal, another close match, we came to a stunning conclusion:

My grandmother’s biological father was George Neal, not Josiah Coon.

Elizabeth was conceived after George’s wife had passed away. Shelley’s mother recalled that George was known to have had children outside of his marriage. The timeline and geography also fit: at the time of conception, George lived just across the Tulsa County/Osage County line—closer in proximity to Elizabeth’s mother than any of his brothers.

With this new understanding, I was able to correctly identify Raymond Neal as my mother’s half-first cousin and Betty Neal as a second cousin.

It was difficult to let go of JJ. A fellow researcher, Nancy, who had collaborated with me on Josiah’s history, was so unwilling to accept the DNA evidence that she refused to speak to me after I determined that George Neal was Elizabeth’s biological father.

However, after entering all the Neal DNA matches into the What Are The Odds? tool, I am confident in the conclusion:

Elizabeth Moore Nolen’s biological father was George Neal.

This research journey was full of challenges—contradictory records, missing files, and an emotional shift from a well-documented ancestor to an unexpected biological connection. In the end, DNA helped reveal the truth, showing that family history is often more complex than it seems.

What started as a search for Elizabeth’s father led to an entirely new understanding of our family’s story.